Seaton Iron Works
Encyclopedia
Seaton Iron Works was an iron works which operated between 1762 and 1857 in Seaton, Cumberland. As well as making iron it also manufactured iron goods, and before 1800 was a manufacturer of steam engine
s.
for ninety-nine years. The expansive premises were planned and built under the direction of Thomas Spedding, a noted local engineer and built in 1863. The works were known as the "Beer-pot Works", a corruption of the name of the ground where the establishment lay, "Barepot". From a two blast furnace
s, bar and wrought iron was produced, and in an adjoining foundry were manufactured ships' cannon
, steam engines and other ironware.
The iron works was purchased in 1837 by Tulk Ley & Co., and the blast furnaces were consequently rebuilt. However, it was last operated in 1857 and the premises were eventually pulled down, leaving very little trace of a concern which had once employed hundreds of people.
's ideas on steam engines, are today in the collection of the Science Museum
.
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s.
History
The Seaton Iron Works were set up in 1862 by the firm of Hicks Spedding & Co., on land leased from Sir James LowtherJames Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale
Sir James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale was the son of Robert Lowther and Catherine Pennington.He married Mary Crichton-Stuart, daughter of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute and Mary Wortley-Montagu, 1st Baroness Mount Stuart on 7 September 1761.On 9 June 1792 he fought a duel with a Captain Cuthbert...
for ninety-nine years. The expansive premises were planned and built under the direction of Thomas Spedding, a noted local engineer and built in 1863. The works were known as the "Beer-pot Works", a corruption of the name of the ground where the establishment lay, "Barepot". From a two blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s, bar and wrought iron was produced, and in an adjoining foundry were manufactured ships' cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, steam engines and other ironware.
The iron works was purchased in 1837 by Tulk Ley & Co., and the blast furnaces were consequently rebuilt. However, it was last operated in 1857 and the premises were eventually pulled down, leaving very little trace of a concern which had once employed hundreds of people.
Remaining products
Two Heslop engines built before 1800, copied James WattJames Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
's ideas on steam engines, are today in the collection of the Science Museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
.